Miami - December 2011

   It was good experience, but I don’t really think Miami has all that glamour people say. Overall the city is beautiful. And the food is good pretty much anywhere. Hotels are quite expensive as pretty much anything in Miami. The city is huge and might be worth it renting a car. I chose not to and lost a lot of time getting lost using public transportation. 

   The things I liked the most about Miami is the Coral Castle and just hanging at the Cuban cafe.

  I luckily got amazing weather. So relaxing at the beach was great. Beaches by the way are not as beautiful as I expected. And the water in the winter is very cold. But, it was still the best part of my experience in Miami.

   

Rockies - November 2011

 After getting in Calgary (Delta flies to Calgary from Minneapolis), renting a car (with a GPS) is a must .Don't count on your cellphone, it won't have signal most of the time. The hotel we chose to stay was in the hot springs area, which is a quite long drive from Calgary (the roads are very narrow and tortuous, horrible to drive at night). But, it is so worth it. It is for sure the most beautiful road I have driven so far. And that view just doesn't get old. 

   The first day we just chilled at the Fairmont Hot Springs and it felt sooooo good. The days the followed we drove to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. Last day a bit more time relaxing at Radium hot springs. Impossible to point the most beautiful location.

  The only little problem was the period we chose to go. Too late for summer activities, too early for winter. But, the only thing that really bothered me is that the season to visit the Columbia Ice Fields were done. I guess I will have to go back :)

Brussel - October 2011

   Chocolate, diamond and beer. Do I need to say anything else? It is so far my favourite place in earth. Too bad it was such a short trip.

  Delta flies to Brussels  from JFK. Renting a car in Brussels isn't necessary, the public transportation is very good and traffic is chaotic. It is possible to get hotels for a good price close to the Grand Place (that is close to most of the attractions in Brussels).

   The first two days I explored Brussels: Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Chocolate Museum, trying some beers, fries (fried twice, they get soooo crispy) and chocolates, oh god the Belgium chocolate...

   Then from Brussels went to Bruge by train, very short trip and what a charming city. It is so well preserved and you can walk everywhere. 

   For my last day Antwerp. Where you can find the Diamond Museum. That is for sure my favourite rock even more after this trip. Well I spent too much time admiring the shiny rocks lost track of time and didn't have time to get in the Fashion Museum. Perfect excuse to go back.

Chicago - September 2011

   Delta flies to Chicago from all the hubs (JFK, Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis). It is called the Windy city and it lives up to it. In September was way colder than in Montreal. I got very bad weather. Chose a hotel close to the airport which means I was really far from the city. So associating bad weather, long distances and short trip I end up not exploring much. 

   Renting a car in Chicago is a very bad idea, it is very hard to park, and the payed parking are very expensive.

   Eating the pizza (deep dish pizza) is a must. 

   The architectural tours is interesting as well as going up the Sears tour. But honestly, I am not looking forward to go back to Chicago.

Los Angeles - August

   Delta flies to LA from all the hubs (JFK, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Detroit). Renting a car is necessary, the city is very spread out, everything is very far.  As per hotel, when you book, you probably paying only for your bed. Breakfast, Internet, parking for your necessary car are all extras.
   I absolutely loved LA. Honestly way more expensive than I expected, but, still worth every penny. We visit all the studios. You probably don’t need to go in all of them. Universal studio VIP experience is by far the best and the one you will learn the most about behind the scenes of movies and TV shows. 

Kodak theater is absolutely impressive. And the Chinese theater and walk of the fame is really fun.

My favorite is the historic guided tour. On this one I learnt a lot about the city and Hollywood history.

The tour to see the home of the stars was a bit disappointing, they don’t live really close to each other, and you don’t necessarily will see any celebrity.

Important things to know about LA: the tours must be booked a few weeks before getting there or you will count a lot on your luck. That include all the studios and the Kodak theater.
And to chill it is a nice walk around Santa Monica Pier and Venice beach area.
It is a place to go back many, many times.

Prague - May 2011

 What a surprise. The diversity of architecture is totally unbelievable. Prague building haven’t been touched buy any of the wars. We see buildings from the 13^th century as well as very modern buildings like the dancing house.

Puerto Vallarta - February 2011

Living in Montreal isn’t easy this time of the year. After about 5 months of winter nothing like a sunny destination to boost the energy and start the spring with “the right foot”.

Low budget as usual the hotel chosen was the one that with a good price and by the beach. The flight left from JFK and it was a very nice flight. Right at the airport we got surrounded by many sweet salesmen, who tells you all about the local attractions and hook you up with the time shares. By one hand the time share people will pay one attraction for you to go and listen to them, in the other hand is going to take most of your day. As my trips are really short I rather enjoy my time at the beach and try to get a good bargain for the attractions.

When we got at the hotel we realized that it was a gay friendly hotel. It didn’t bother us, it was a very nice area, with very friendly people, right by the beach. Nothing to complain about.

At the beach while I was trying to get my deserved tan, every second locals try to sell things. “No gracias” is never enough. But the mojitos are amazing :)

As activities no much to do around there. There is a very nice restaurant called las Carmelitas that is on top of the hill where you see the whole city and the sunset is stunning. That it is a must when I Puerto Vallarta.

The other activity very interesting is this dinner in a island. You go to the port get in the boat, they bring you to an island a few minutes away, where the light are torches and locals are dressed as indians. There are very fun dance presentation. Also strongly recommend.

Dive and snorkeling isn’t the best place. The water is turbid and the underwater diversity is a bit disappointing.

Overall the experience in Puerto Vallarta was great, I am looking forward to go to the west side of Mexico

How to organize a trip

1 - Where to go?

I love to chose interesting places, where I can go within 3-4 days, spend as little as possible, and learn as much as I can.

2 - Who are you traveling with?

Most of my trips are solo trips. Therefore my main concern is always safety. My husband will go with me in some trips, specially to places where isn't very safe for a woman alone.

3 - Ticket

I found out that if you will be a frequent flyer there are many advantages on being a faithful costumer. The accumulate millage gives you “free” tickets, you get “free” upgrades, "free bags", board first and many others. I chose Delta airlines and partners to fly with, because of the number of destinations, great service and advantages of being a platinum, gold or silver member.

4 - Where to stay?

I usually book my hotels online.Now pack and go! My requirements are:

1 - Lower price possible close to the main attractions;

2 - Access to the internet;

3 - Refund possible;

4 - shuttle from/to airport

5 - Breakfast

I don’t always book somewhere with all the requirements, but with time and many mistakes made choosing the hotel we get smarter.

It is always a good Idea to call before you leave to make sure all your requirements will really be met the way you expect.

About Me

   My name is Elaine Wiart. I am brazilian, I live in Montreal since 2005. Most of my trips I will do solo, but sometimes I get lucky and my husband, Christophe, will come along.

  The idea of this blog came just like any other idea in a casual dinner with friends. My passion is travel, and I get to live my passion. I already got some experience on how to organize a trip, to make a very functional luggage, to choose where to stay and so on, and I will do my best to share all of that with you. Follow me in this journey to explore the world.

Invitation

Hi everyone!

I invite you to follow me through this adventure to explore the world.

Here I will be sharing my experiences and tips so you also can get the most of it.

Don't exitate to contact me if you need help or advise setting up your trip.

Elaine